Gregor and
by pomplamouse
Summary: Its four years after Gregor has last seen the Underland or the girl he loved there. When a visitor from below arrives, will Gregor follow his heart of his head? PLEASE help. I'm new at this. More of an editor than a writer. Don't make fun. please?
1. Chapter 1

The sun dipped low over the horizon. And for the millionth time in the past four years, Gregor wished he wasn't able to see it. He was sitting alone on the roof of a shabby apartment building in the projects of Manhattan that he and his family called home. Seemingly just a regular sixteen-year-old boy, worried about some trivial teenage angst. But Gregor was about as far from normal as any person could be. A regular teenager didn't have countless scars crisscrossing virtually every surface of his body. Or have the acute senses of a natural born killer. A normal boy also didn't dream of a secret place located hundreds of miles under New York City, a place called the Underland, where huge bats swooped across the sky and a violet-eyed race of people lived peacefully with giant rats, cockroaches, spiders, and mice that was completely unknown to entire overland population.

Well-almost entire. Gregor and his family were an acceptation. It had all started when his father had disappeared down the laundry chute in the basement of their apartment building. He had been missing for three years when Gregor and his two-year-old sister Boots had accidently discovered the portal to the Underland as well. So far, there were only two portals he knew of. The shaft in his laundry room, and the large, flat rock located in the center of Central Park. The laundry room was put off-limits by his mother; for fear that one of her children would be snatched away to again. He shifted slightly, looking back towards the door to the roof. The handle turned and the door protested slightly as a small, twelve year old face peeked through the opening. Lizzie, Gregor's younger sister and brilliant puzzle-solver stepped out into the fading sunlight and silently closed the door behind her. Without a word, she settled herself down next to her older brother.

"Your thinking about it, aren't you? And about her." They both knew what she was talking about. A warrior and rager, a born fighter with extreme skill, Gregor had starred in several prophesies that proclaimed the Underland's doom. He had fulfilled them all, alongside his first and only love, Luxa, the young queen of the underground human city, Regalia, and his bond and best friend, the midnight black bat, Ares.

_Luxa. _

_Ares_.

He saw the beautiful girl in his mind, and struggled to hide the pain on his face. He loved her wholeheartedly and as much as he tried to block the memories, Gregor had thought about Luxa every second of the past four years. Her regal stance, her strong and stubborn, but loyal, personality…_Stop it, he told himself. You can't break down in front of Lizzie. You have to be strong. _

But Ares, the brave bat that had chosen to save Gregor's life instead of the life of his previous bond, Henry, Ares had died in battle with the Bane, a crazed white rat that had plans to destroy Regalia and all of its inhabitants.

_I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out_, Gregor had said during the fight with the demented creature.

_Hang on!_ Ares had instructed him as he dove under the Bane's foreleg. But it was all wrong. Ares had been too close to the Bane.

_Get out! Get out, Ares!_ Gregor had begged. But it was too late. The Bane had ripped the fragile flesh of the large bat's wing, and with a yank, grabbed the bat out from under Gregor and sank his teeth into Ares' neck.

Gregor had to control the emotion that rose up and threatened the break free inside of him. As soon as the rock in Central Park that was one of the only portals to his happiness was pushed into place, separating him from the only love he had ever known, he had had to master the art of controlling his feelings. No one spoke of aloud of the Underland. It was an unspoken rule in his family.

Exactly four years, two months, and fifteen days had passed since he had last been in the Underland, and exactly four years, two months, and fifteen days since he had last felt happiness. His family needed him. His mother was already working two jobs, his father was bedridden and frail, and his two sisters were too young to work. They were barely scraping by, and their refrigerator and cupboards were almost always bare. Only a sense of duty to his family, and thousands of feet of rock, separated Gregor from the Underland.

"Yeah. I guess I am," Gregor answered to his sister. Lizzie cocked her head, studying her older brother. In the past couple of years he had filled out quite a bit. Tall and muscular, he always looked so solemn. She rarely ever saw him smile. Lizzie had a talent for reading the feelings of the people around her, and she knew that he was more often than not unhappy. She and Gregor were the only ones who still mentioned it, the Underland. They had both made irreplaceable friends down there, and often confined in each other. She stayed silent and waited for Gregor to talk next.

"I'm okay Liz. It's over. There's no going back. You know that it would probably kill mom to have one of us disappear again. I'm fine. Really." Gregor's mother especially detested the Underland. She saw it as a terrible place that had stolen her husband and children from her too many times to be forgiven.

Lizzie just listened, and thought to herself. _He's not fine. I know how much I've been in pain, but I know that I can't compare to Gregor. I saw him and Luxa together. I know what I saw between them, and I know it was true love. _

But they both knew that the family would fall apart with Gregor there to act as the glue that held them all together. Lizzie knew that nothing she could say would help her brother heal his wounds, and she silently rose and returned the door. With a last sympathetic look towards Gregor, she turned and walked down the stairs.

_And so another night begins, _Gregor thought. Night was the time he hated most. The time when his mind was free to wonder through his memories. The hardest time to block out thought of the only place he ever felt like he belonged to. It was painful to think about because he knew he would never go back. Gregor took a last look at the melting lava of the sunset, then stood quickly and followed his sister downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

"You will never get away with this," Luxa spat into the face of her captor.

"Oh, your highness, or should I say _majesty_, getting away with this is exactly what I intend to do." The enormous rat peered down into the queen's face. She glared back for a moment before letting loose a huge wad of spit that landed directly between the rat's beady black eyes.

With a growl, the rat instructed one of his comrades, "Put the damn human in the dungeon, and don't let her out of your sight for a minute! She's a tricky one."

"Yes sir, Shreadshard, anything you say, sir!" Instead of the ominous looking gnawer that Shreadshard had been directing the order towards, a very eager looking rat willingly stepped forward and grabbed the bound Luxa by the forearm.

At the mention of the name Shreadshard, Luxa's eyes grew wide and she suddenly snarled and began to beat at her handlers with a renewed ferocity.

"Ah…remember me, love? I was so hoping that you would."

Luxa was glaring at the rat called Shreadshard with a look of pure hatred. "You murdered my parents," she growled. "You fowl, low-life creature! I will kill you and then see too it personally that you are damned to hell for all eternity!" Luxa wasn't usually so verbally abusive, but she had been saving up quite a bit of rage for the being that was the reason that she had no parents.

"Well, well. What a little fighter you are. Just like your dear departed mother and father." With a fierce some yell, Luxa ripped herself away from her captors and attempted to launch herself at the rat. Three muscled gnawers stepped in front of Shreadshard, and a four's tail whipped around them and landed a hard blow on the back of Luxa's head. Her knees crumpled and her sight began to go. Luxa had a realization before the blackness completely overtook her vision. She knew that she would be the one to avenge her parent's deaths, and that no force would be able to stop her until not a breath was left in Shreadshard's body.

The mud-brown rat chuckled as he turned back to his eager volunteer. "Well, now that she's out cold, I think that we may be able to let you, even being the idiot that you are, haul her to a cell. Lock it up tight; we don't want a repeat of the last time we let you handle a prisoner, do we?"

"No sir! Not at all sir! Right away, sir!" The young rat scooped Luxa up, tossed her unconscious form over his shoulder like a rag doll, and started off down a dark corridor.

"Why do we still keep the useless thing?" One of the rats asked of their leader.

"The human or the rat?" Shreadshard retorted, amused.

After a second of thought, the same rat answered, "Both."

Shreadshard sighed. Sometimes it was hard to be the only one with a lick of sense. "The rat because he will do anything he's told. He may prove quite useful because he is so deposable. As for the human…well, I have plans for her. She may prove useful, too. Something along the lines of bait seems rather nice." He chuckled softly. _If I can manage to lure that lump of an overlander…_His thoughts trailed off as he considered the delightful possibilities.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Silverfur walked down the corridor to the dungeons, whistling softly under his breath. He was in a very good mood. The human was still out, so tossing her into a cell hadn't been a problem. _Maybe if I prove to Shreadshard that I'm not useless, he will appreciate me more! I will get to do more exciting things that benefit the B.F. Oh, it would be wonderful to be noticed by Shreadshard. _Silverfur happily thought of all the praises Shreadshard would shower upon him when he proved himself worthy of the Bane's followers.

_The B.F., a group of some of the most distinguished fighters and human-haters in all of the gnawer population. The fraction who still believed in what our ancestors believed in-that being that rats were meant to rule-and intended to fulfill that dream. We salute the noble individual that started our work, but was viciously and unjustly massacred in his peek. The Bane. _Silverfur ducked his head in respect for the rat their entire association held in awe_. Soon, the rats will all duck their head in respect for me, for I will be the one to abolish the race of killers once and for all!_ He thought of the remarks that would follow him everywhere he went.

_Oh, Silverfur, how could we have ever doubted you?_

_Silverfur, you are truly the greatest gnawer of us all._

_Please, Silverfur-just one more tale of your awesomeness? _

_Everyone will call me "master" and "ruler" and __not__ "posy" and "idiot" as they do now_. The gnawer giggled to himself, elated with his imaginings that he was so sure would come true in the near future.

_I will be the one gnawer who breaks the peace once and for all. I, Silvefur! And all those who opposed me and made fun of me will pay, because I will be king of the gnawers and I will kill the killers as they have killed us! They will wish they had never crossed the gnawers, when we are so clearly more fit to rule than they, _though Silverfur. _I spit on those poor excuses for rats that have allied themselves with the humans; they disgrace the name that is gnawer! Gnawers were created to rule, not be ruled. I will restore the rats to their former glory! All will bow down to me! _Silverfur trembled with delight at the mere thought of his sure future.

"Silverfur?" The rat in question jumped up and ran to the nearest crevice in the wall, his heart going a million miles an hour.

"Oh, come out from there." A large tan rat stepped in front of the Silvefur's impromptu hiding place. Silverfur, embarrassed, slid out of the crevice and answered with a meek,

"Yes sir. What do you require, sir?"

"Well, I was just here to make sure you were doing your job. I see that you haven't been. Shall I send for a replacement?"

"Oh-no sir! I'll pay attention, sir!" Silverfur quickly replied.

"Good. No more wandering the corridors dreaming of being king again, eh _Silvia_? Is that clear your _majesty? _Or do you prefer _sire?" _The rat said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Tearflesh!"

Tearfleah's eyes flashed, "Watch it, _pup_," he sneered, "Wouldn't want you to suddenly…disappear, now would we?"

"No sir," Silverfur grumbled, defeated.

The muscled rat walked off again, muttering something that sounded strangely like "pansy" under his breath.

Silverfur paced the hall, thinking. _No one gives me any respect around here. It's just not fair! _The rat actually stamped his hind foot. _I'm just as important as anyone else…the stupid human girl is only sixteen years of age and SHE gets the respect of an entire kingdom! All the news we've been hearing has been, "Luxa this, Luxa that. The human had her coronation; she celebrated with her little nibbler charity cases…" blahblahblah. Who cares about the idiot girl? Apparently her bond, the betrayer to gnawers, Ripred. _Even when Silverfur thought the name, he still said it with scorn. He suddenly stopped his pacing and looked up. The girl was starting to stir. _Should I fetch Tearflesh, or…? No. I can do this on my own. I __will__ show them that I can be just as tough and useful as any of Shreadshars's other followers. _

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………_.._

_I was flying on Aurora, soaring above the waterway. The crisp air was refreshing on my skin, and my hair, not being tied back, flew out behind me like a banner. Aurora's body was comfortably warm, and we were working in perfect sync; turn here, flip there, roll, tuck, land. Aurora and I were the envy of every bond pair in Regalia. We could work as one complete mind, both of our bodies following each order. _

_But we understand each other. She is my best friend. Even more so than most flier bonds, which most would think impossible as everyone believes they are the closest partnership. But Aurora was the only being I felt I could always rely on. She would never let any harm come to me. _

_There was one other I felt this way about, and still feel about. But he left me, years ago. It wasn't his fault, no. He had a responsibility, just as I have a responsibility to my kingdom. Although we were very young when we were last together, we both knew that what we had together would be forever. Tragedy brings people together, and both he and I had had plenty of tragedy in our lives. Yes, he and Aurora were the only ones who I loved completely and irrevocably. _

_Although my other bond, Ripred, is definitely up there too. I smiled. Ripred. The brave, sarcastic, rager Ripred. His complaints and cutting comments would never seize to annoy me, yet I would never seize to trust him wholeheartedly. I wondered what Ripred was doing this moment. Probably terrorizing the cooks into making him a huge vat of his favorite food, shrimp in cream sauce, and planning out the new gnawers' democracy. This would be a difficult task, impossible for anyone other than the new king of rats, Ripred. _

_Aurora glided over the water, barely inches above its untouched surface, skimming the tips of her wings in its unknown depths. Gregor. I could never seem to stop thinking about him for more than a few moments at most. What we had, no have, (or at least in my case, if he were to move on…then I would wish him well. I would be slowly dying inside, but I would not hold him back) was true love. It was not the unimportant pup-love that many, including my cousin Howard, saw it to be. _

_Howard opposed the relationship Gregor and I shared most strongly. He was worried that there would be a revolution of the people of Regalia, along with all of the other species we had worked so hard to form fragile peace with, if the royal blood line were to stray from strictly underlanders. I blushed even thinking about it. Why should it matter if the bloodline was carried on by half-landers? Children of the prophesized warrior and mighty queen would be most just rulers. I suddenly blushed even harder than before, feeling the fire behind my cheeks even if I didn't see it. _

_Although Howard opposed it, Vikus, my peace-loving grandfather seems to stay out of my personal affairs. I snorted. How I wish Howard would do the same. Solovet, my departed grandmother and complete opposite of her husband no doubt would have approved of the pairing. Gregor was a rager, meaning a born warrior with superb natural skills, and after all, Solovet was the ruthless leader of the Regalian army. _

_Though I can see his point, it doesn't make my feelings for Gregor any less. And after all, Hazard is a half-lander and the kingdom adores him. _Hazard, who Luxa's half-lander cousin, son of her uncle-Solovet and Vikus' son-Hamnet, and an overland women. His mother had been lost to him for years, and his father passed in a fierce battle with the cutters, the huge, merciless ants that cared nothing for their own self-preservation, only that of the colony as a whole. Hazard was distinguishable from the pure underlanders by his slightly darker skin, big green eyes, and brown hair that was the opposite from the pale skin, violet eyes and white-blond hair of the full underlanders. Hamnet's dying wish to Luxa was that Hazard would not be taught to fight, and to be prevented from becoming a killer. Hamnet's mother, Solovet, used him for his natural fighting skills and forced him to do battle as a young man, causing Hamnet to runaway and take refuge in the forest of the Underland. The forest where one day, he would meet the overland women that he loved.

_The memory of the council meeting not long ago sprung itself into mind, not willing to give me even a moment's peace. _

_Aurora noticed that something was distressing me. I had sat up straighter, tense, and clutching the soft fur at the base of her neck a little tighter. _

"_What is wrong Luxa?" she purred in her soft voice. _

"_Oh Aurora, do you know why I came out of the council room in such anger?" She asked of the flier, "They plan to marry me!" I imitated Rina, one of the council members, with her high, breathy, annoying voice, "The queen is of age and therefore needs a king by her side to support her and rule alongside her. The people of Regalia need a male ruler, and her majesty is a child no longer. It would be best for the welfare of all of the species." _

_Aurora faltered a bit, surprised at this news, but quickly recovered and answered, "Do you know who it is they plan to make king?"_

"_Harrison West." I sneered the name. The snotty, arrogant, stupid boy! He was the son of one of Regalia's wealthiest families and he was also Rina's oldest son. "I'd sooner be sliced by the swords of a million cutters than be bound to that child. He is ignorant, and never works for himself, he always just expects other people to pick up his slack!" Though I didn't say, I wasn't just thinking about what a wretched husband Harrison would be, I was thinking about how my soul would flicker and die if it knew that I would never be allowed to be with Gregor again. I would only ever really love him, and never another. _

_Aurora responded, quite agreeing with her bond, "He is an insolent boy who would believe all he would be required to do for the kingdom is wear the crown. I cannot see how Regalia is to prosper with the likes of the West child entering the royal family."_

In their heated (and disgusted) complaints about Luxa's proposed husband, the usually observant pair had never seen it coming. They circled several times before Aurora touched lightly down on a narrow strip of sand to continue their conversation further.

_I stretched out on the sand of the small beach, relaxing my arms behind my head and staring upward. Aurora's head jerked up and she started to say urgently, "Luxa, there is-" before a gang of a dozen or so tough-looking gnawers stepped out of the shadows and started forward. Aurora began to screech and beat her wings at the oncoming rats and tried to tell me to hop onto her back so she could take flight, but two rope-like tails hit her simultaneously, one in front and one in back, sufficiently knocking her unconscious. "Aurora!" I yelled. I turned to her attackers as drew my sword; I was a good fighter, but not good enough to take on twelve hardened rats, and I fully intended to take some of them with me when I went. I started towards the two nearest rats when what appeared to be the leader stepped forward. _

"_Alright, queenie, stop before you do anything rash. We are not your pussy-footed allies, but we don't have to be your enemies either. Now listen up…" _

Luxa jerked awake back in her cell. She remembered the details of her dream so clearly, showcased in her mind exactly as they had played out. The rats had captured her, only taking her without a fight because they threatened Aurora, and Luxa knew that she couldn't protect them both. Where was Aurora? _They must have put her in a cell as well…_thought Luxa. _Surely they wouldn't be foolish enough to put her in the same cell as I_, she replied to herself, her heart lifting a bit at the idea of having her bond nearby. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth quickly, using echolocation to see in the darkness. Ripred had taught her skill many years ago, right after…she swallowed. Right after had Gregor left. But nothing showed on the radar in her mind. _No Aurora_, she sighed aloud.

If he were only here! Luxa felt safe with Gregor. She felt they were a kind of team, able to overcome anything and everything if they were only together. For the first time in a long time, Luxa felt scared. She didn't like being at the mercy of creatures she was sure would not hesitate to kill her if she proved problematic. If only she had her sword, Luxa knew she could find a way out of this cell and to Aurora. They would escape, and it needed to be fast and unexpected. Luxa leaned against the wall of the stone cell, thinking. An idea suddenly struck her. She leaned toward the door of the cell and softly called,

"Silverfur?"


End file.
